I started working on this side table so long ago, I had to scroll millions of pictures to find the “before” picture! It is definitely a tale of two makeovers. I documented most of this journey on Instagram with reels and stories, so be sure to follow us so you don’t miss what we’re working on!
Makeover #1
This side table was either the second or third piece of furniture I bought to refinish in 2020. I saw it on FBM and realized its potential as a cute side table. The design I had in my head was: blue/gray with a black cup pull, and some kind of cool liner.
I had a lot of Legacy from Jolie left over from the second piece of furniture I chalk painted; a hanging corner cupboard in our family room. It’s a tough piece to photograph because of its location between two windows, but it’s a beautiful 19th century piece with lots of storage for my seasonal decor. I think milk paint would have been a better option for that piece to make it look more authentic, but…I’ll have to do that on another piece! 😉
So, back to this cabinet, it’s surprisingly heavy for its small size! I sealed with Dixie Belle BOSS since that has worked so well for me in the past, and painted the cabinet like normal.
But, my paint brush strokes were all over the place, it was streaky and I didn’t like it. So, I decided to try our tiny paint sprayer that I bought from Amazon for $15. Well, it worked like you imagine a $15 sprayer would! Our compressor was too small to allow a good, consistent spray and I spent most of my precious painting time waiting for it to come to pressure. DISASTER. I needed a new plan.
Makover #2
Like I mentioned, this cabinet is heavy, so I thought it was solid “real” wood and decided to try out my fancy Surfprep sander that I bought for xmas/birthday. If you’re unfamiliar with Surfprep, it’s a serious sander that is excellent for sanding and stripping, but not reshaping wood. It was a big time investment, but I KNEW if I wanted to achieve the “raw wood” look I want on future pieces, then I needed to invest in this sander.
I decided to START. ALL. OVER and sand off the new paint and existing finish underneath. I revealed a beautiful wood grain…but I also revealed veneer that I blew through to the composite wood below. You can see along the edges the difference in wood color. So, my idea for raw wood top was gone, and after I stripped down the top, I BOSS’d again and painted using a small roller.
The second time around the paint went on smoothly and I was happy with the result. We decided a vintage newspaper collage would be fun for the liner – we were inspired by the restroom wallpaper at a favorite antique mall in Maryland – Beaver Creek! So, I turned to Etsy and found a super fun peel and stick wallpaper. Not eco-friendly, but small business at least. 😉
The End Result
It took a lot of work, and some choice words, but I finally got the result I wanted: a clean, classic look with a little vintage flair. I learned about a billion things along the way, but two lessons stand out: be flexible, every challenge is a chance to learn.
What do you think? I’d love to hear in the comments below, or on our IG page!
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